Grandola Library

Wooden compact and accessible

Grandola library

This project was a competition for a Public Library in Grandola, Alentejo, Portugal. The new library should replace an old building with accessibility problems and small spaces for the ambitions of the city administration. The competition’s program was difficult to manage, given the codes that didn’t allow more than two storeys. Our project followed all the functional requirements and responded to the accessibility challenges. The proposed solution contrasted the transparency of the ground level with the opacity of the superior level. These two areas corresponded to the main functional zones of the Library. The reading rooms should be open and accessible and the archives should naturally be more closed and quiet. We partnered this project with TISEM, a company specialized in wooden structures. The use of CLT as the main structural material was part of an overall strategy of sustainable use of resources and minimization of Carbon emissions. Our team assumed the compromise to implement the well known environmental system BREEAM. The Juri was not sensible to our arguments and didn’t show evidence of justice and rational criteria in the assessment of the proposals.